CTV Newsnet
CTV Newsnet is a Canadian English language cable TV headline news specialty channel that launched on October 17, 1997. It's O&O by CTV Television Inc., a division of CTVglobemedia. History Licensed in 1996 as CTV N1, it was launched on October 17, 1997 as CTV News 1. In 1999, it was renamed CTV Newsnet. It originally began with its' news anchors sitting @ a desk which would periodically, while the anchor was not speaking, spin in a circle to change the background in front of which the anchor sat. This gimmick was widely mocked & soon abandoned. At first, the service's licence restricted it to broadcasting news headlines, weather, sports news, financial news & entertainment news, plus advertisements, in a 15 minute "wheel", beginning a new cycle every 15 minutes using a pre-recorded, server-hosted configuration. Not long after it's launch, however, it began covering breaking news more audaciously. CTV decided that Newsnet's licence did not prevent it from airing live events provided the anchor broke in @ least once during a given 15-minute wheel to read items drawn from most or all of the categories noted above. CTV progressively sought amendments to this condition to allow greater coverage of breaking news, longer-form news-oriented discussion & other programming & was met with mixed decisions from the CRTC. On April 7 2005, the Commission removed previous conditions mandating a 15 minute news cycle, substituting new but much more liberal conditions. On August 22 2005, CTV Newsnet introduced a new, full screen format & improved their late afternoon & prime-time programming, with increases to their anchor, reporting & production teams & a greater emphasis on general news from the main anchor desk, reducing sports & business coverage. The network hoped to capitalize in part on the lockout which had nearly obliterated news programming on CBC Television (outside Quebec) & CBC Newsworld. Along with CTV Newsnet-originated newscasts, the network carries the CTV National News, Canada AM & the Sunday public affairs series Question Period. Before the 2005 format change, sports segments were co-branded with TSN & business news with Report on Business Television (now Business News Network). Both share common ownership with CTV & Newsnet. Earlier in the network's history, weather reports were provided by The Weather Network, which is independently owned & sports segments were once co-branded with Headline Sports & then later by CTV Sportsnet, which CTV owned before it acquired TSN. However since mid-2007, CablePulse 24 (CP24), Canada's 24-hour only local news channel based in Toronto is under the same ownership as CTV Newsnet, following CTVglobemedia's acquisition of CHUM Limited. On January 28 2008, CTV Newsnet dropped it's own morning newscast in favor of an expanded 6-hour Canada AM with no local breaks on this channel. Later on June 9 2008, CTV Newsnet returned it's own morning newscast between 10 AM & 12 PM as a result of the cancellation of the Vancouver-based portions of Canada AM. Anchors Weekday anchors * Marci Ien reports with Canada AM from 6-9 AM ET (3-6 AM PT), anchors CTV Newsnet from 9-10 AM ET (6-7 AM PT) * * Dan Matheson anchors CTV Newsnet from 2-5 PM ET (11 AM-2 PM PT) * Tom Clark anchors Power Play from 5-6 & 8-9 PM ET (2-3 & 5-6 PM PT) * Marcia MacMillan anchors CTV Newsnet Primetime from 6-8 & 9 PM-midnight, both ET (4-5 & 6-9 PM PT), final half hour repeated every hour until the next day @ 6 AM ET * Lloyd Robertson anchors CTV National News (30 minutes) @ 10 PM ET (7 PM PT), repeated every hour until next day @ 5:30 AM ET Weekend anchors * Brad Giffen anchors CTV Newsnet Weekend Mornings from 6 AM-noon ET (3-9 AM PT) * Jacqueline Milczarek anchors CTV Newsnet Weekend Afternoon Edition weekends noon-6 PM ET (9 AM-3 PM PT) * Scott Laurie anchors CTV Newsnet Weekend Primetime weekends from 6-10, 10:30 & 11:30 PM ET (3-7, 7:30 & 8:30 PM PT), final half hour repeated every hour until next day @ 6 AM ET * Craig Oliver & Jane Taber anchor CTV's Question Period Sundays @ 11 AM ET & 4 PM PT. * Sandie Rinaldo anchors weekend CTV National News (30 minutes) @ 10 & 11 PM ET (7 & 8 PM PT), repeated every hour until next day @ 5:30 AM ET * Samantha Houston Network reporters * Denelle Balfour * Genevieve Beauchemin * Rob Brown * Janet Dirks * Avis Favaro * Robert Fife * Alan Fryer * Lisa LaFlamme * Jill Macyshon * Victor Malarek * Craig Oliver * Graham Richardson * Roger Smith * Rosemary Thompson * Paula Todd * John Vennavally-Rao Foreign correspondents * Steve Chao - Beijing Bureau Chief * Tom Kennedy - London Bureau Chief * Janis Mackey Frayer - Middle East Bureau Chief * Joy Malbon - Washington, D.C. Bureau Chief * Tom Walters - Los Angeles Bureau Chief * Paul Workman - Washington, D.C. Bureau Chief External links * CTV Newsnet info page * CTV News' Website